Frigga was stunned by Ethan's words and remained silent for a long time.
Ethan could tell that the queen of Asgard was not an ordinary woman. To a certain extent, she probably possessed some ability to glimpse fragments of the future.
The calm way she accepted her own eventual death proved how composed and open-minded she truly was.
But Ethan was certain of one thing.
She did not know the entire story.
At most, she had seen vague fragments of the future. She might have sensed that misfortune awaited her, but she could not possibly know the full fate that awaited both Thor and Loki.
No mother could calmly watch her sons suffer through the future he knew.
"So," Frigga finally said quietly, "you wish to make a deal with me."
"And the reward is helping my sons in the future?"
"No."
Ethan shook his head.
"What ability do I really have to help them?" he said calmly. "Even if I tried, would my help truly matter?"
Frigga frowned slightly.
"Then how would you save them?"
"It won't be me who saves them."
He looked directly at her.
"It will be you."
Frigga blinked in surprise.
"You want to save me?"
"That's right."
The queen shook her head gently and smiled.
"I am not afraid of death," she said softly. "There is no need to save me."
Ethan smiled.
"Death itself is not frightening," he replied. "Because most of the time, living is far harder than dying."
"If you are not afraid of death…"
"Then why not choose to live?"
Frigga sighed.
"Fate is not something one should toy with."
"When I first learned the art of time magic, I was taught an important lesson."
"When you glimpse the future, the future also begins to watch you."
She looked toward the distant horizon.
"That is why I rarely focus on what lies ahead."
"I prefer to live each moment fully."
Ethan nodded thoughtfully.
So that was the principle behind it.
No wonder the Ancient One had warned him not to recklessly interfere with the destinies of certain important people.
They were afraid the consequences might become even worse.
Ethan smiled faintly.
"Fate should not be toyed with."
"But I'm a stubborn man."
"So how about I take the lead in playing with it?"
Before Frigga could respond, he continued.
"I possess a secret realm."
"A space that exists almost completely separate from this world."
"If you enter that place, the causal ties of this universe will no longer affect you."
"In the eyes of this world… you would essentially be dead."
Frigga considered his words carefully.
But she still shook her head slightly.
"That would still be a kind of mockery."
Ethan knew it was time to reveal his trump card.
"Do you know what Thor will experience after you are gone?"
Frigga was about to interrupt him when Ethan spoke again in a firm voice.
"I promise you…"
"It will break your heart."
He began describing the future.
"In the near future, he will lose you."
"Then he will lose the woman he loves."
"Later he will lose his father."
"His sister Hela will crush Mjolnir and gouge out one of his eyes."
"To stop her, Thor will trigger Ragnarok and destroy Asgard with his own hands."
"He will lead the surviving Asgardians into space on a refugee ship."
"And there they will meet Thanos."
"Heimdall will die."
"Loki will die."
"Half of the Asgardians will be slaughtered."
"Thor himself will drift through space on the edge of death…"
"Enough!"
Frigga's voice trembled.
Thor was her beloved son.
Hearing such a fate was unbearable.
"If you cannot even bear to hear it," Ethan said quietly, "then how can you calmly leave him to face all of it alone?"
Frigga's face had turned pale.
She sat silently for a long time.
At that moment, hurried footsteps suddenly approached.
A golden-armored guard rushed into the garden.
"Your Majesty!"
"The Second Prince is missing!"
Ethan froze.
He had not expected events to develop like this.
In the original timeline, Loki and Thor fought fiercely on the Rainbow Bridge. In order to stop Loki from destroying Jotunheim, Thor destroyed the Bifrost.
Both brothers fell into the cosmic void, but Odin awakened in time and saved them.
Loki, however, rejected Odin's attempt to rescue him and fell into the temporal vortex created by the shattered bridge.
Later he encountered Thanos and the Chitauri.
Loki desired to rule Midgard.
Thanos desired the Tesseract.
And their alliance eventually led to the invasion of New York.
Following Frigga's anxious footsteps, Ethan quickly learned what had happened.
After discovering Loki's earlier actions, Odin had severely reprimanded him.
Loki had always desperately sought his father's approval.
Unable to endure the criticism, he argued fiercely with Odin in front of Thor.
In the end, Odin lost his temper and ordered Loki imprisoned.
But Loki escaped.
To avoid pursuit, he destroyed the Rainbow Bridge and created a violent spatial vortex before exiling himself into the unknown.
When Frigga heard the news, she was overwhelmed with grief.
She returned to her palace and shut herself away to cry in private.
Meanwhile, Ethan was summoned by Odin.
Everyone else was dismissed from the throne hall.
Only the two of them remained inside the massive chamber.
"You are Theodore Vane?"
"Yes, Your Majesty," Ethan said politely with a small bow.
Inside, however, he felt uneasy.
Loki's desperate escape might actually be connected to Ethan's earlier actions.
After all, Loki had been trapped inside illusions for days. His anger had never truly been released.
Then he returned to Asgard only to be scolded harshly by his father.
Anyone could imagine how frustrated he must have felt.
Ethan wondered whether Loki had told Odin about being imprisoned.
Given Loki's pride, it seemed unlikely he would admit something so humiliating.
As Ethan was thinking about this, Odin suddenly produced a familiar object.
The cursed cloth.
It was the same enchanted band the Ancient One had given Ethan to suppress Loki's divine power.
Ethan suddenly remembered something.
When the Ancient One gave it to him, she never explained how to remove it.
Yet Odin removed it effortlessly.
"What is your relationship with the Ancient One?" Odin asked calmly.
Ethan's mind moved quickly.
It was clear that Odin knew the Ancient One personally.
Otherwise he would not have recognized the artifact immediately.
"Oh," Ethan replied casually, "we're very close friends."
"She also played a small role in helping Thor and Loki this time."
Odin stared at him with his single eye.
His gaze felt like that of a lion examining its prey.
Ethan met the gaze calmly.
Looking at the once-mighty king now aged and white-haired, Ethan couldn't help feeling a trace of pity.
This legendary conqueror had reached the twilight of his life.
His two sons were still immature.
And the vast empire he built no longer had a clear successor.
It was an unfortunate situation for any ruler.
After studying him for a moment, Odin seemed to lose interest.
"I heard from Thor that you wish to establish relations with Asgard."
"But I have no interest in you or Midgard."
Ethan grinned.
"Your Majesty, I do hope to establish contact with Asgard."
"But the first person I wish to cooperate with…"
"…is the Queen."
He shrugged slightly.
"She invited me earlier, and we had a conversation."
"I'm still waiting for her decision about whether she will accept my proposal."
Odin frowned.
"Frigga?"
"What did you discuss?"
Ethan spread his hands apologetically.
"The cooperation hasn't been finalized yet."
"So it wouldn't be appropriate for me to reveal the details."
"However, Your Majesty is welcome to ask the Queen directly."
He smiled lightly.
"I can promise only one thing."
"This cooperation will benefit Asgard."
"It will not harm it."
Odin snorted impatiently.
"Boring."
"If you don't intend to explain yourself…"
"…then leave."
.....
Join my p@treon and read ahead by more than 60+ chapters.
Link : [email protected]/InfinityWeaver
Free members can read the next two chapters for free on my p@treon